CONFIRMATION 2026

When is Confirmation 2026?

Bishop Bosco will be coming to Salisbury to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation on Thursday 11^th June 2026.

How do we sign up?

Young Catholics in our parish can apply for Confirmation from Year 9 onwards. If you are interested, we are inviting both the young people and their parents to an information evening on Wednesday 10^th September 2025. The meeting for parents will be in the hall next to St Osmund’s church, and for the young people will be at the Parish Centre (next to St Elizabeth Hall, at the far end of Exeter Street).

What is the programme of preparation?

This year, we are integrating our Confirmation preparation course with our regular Wednesday night Youth Group, which takes place every week during term time, at 6.30pm, at the Parish Centre. Everyone will be invited and encouraged to come along to this every week if they can, however only one session per month will be mandatory for Confirmation preparation. These essential “core sessions” will be:

8^th Oct; 12^th Nov; 10^th Dec; 14^th Jan; 11^th Feb; 11^th Mar; 6^th May; 3^rd Jun

In addition to these core sessions, candidates will be expected to attend:

• A short 1:1 “get to know you” meeting (1^st & 2^nd October 2025)
• Residential retreat weekend (Fri 16^th to Sun 18^th January 2026)
• A final 1:1 “readiness” meeting (13^th & 14^th May)
• A Pentecost retreat day (either Sat 23^rd or Sun 24^th May TBC)
• Rehearsal (Tue 9^th June) and Confirmation Mass (Thu 11^th June)

Parents’ Sessions

Parents and families are a crucial part of our young people’s faith journeys. That’s why we’re inviting parents to come along to two of the sessions: 10^th September, and 11^th March. Both will be at 6.30pm, and will be at the Hall next to St Osmund’s (separately from the young people’s meeting in the Parish Centre).

Readiness

There is no “assessment” for Confirmation, and nobody who desires to receive the Sacrament will be denied. However, we will be encouraging every young person to consider very carefully whether they are ready for the commitment to our faith which we make by being Confirmed.

We will be encouraging them to assess their readiness based on various criteria throughout the course, including:

• Am I committed to living out my faith…
  • DAILY (by making time each day to pray)?
  • WEEKLY (by coming to Mass every Sunday)?
  • MONTHLY (by coming regularly to the Sacrament of Confession)?
• Can I sincerely renew my baptismal promises, by responding “I do” to all the statements of belief which we recite in the Creed?
• Do I recognise my need and desire for more of the Holy Spirit in my life?
• Am I committed to being involved in the life of my parish?

If a young person finds themselves unable to meet these criteria, we may encourage them to take a bit more time to reflect and grow in their faith, before taking the step of being Confirmed.